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Topic: 100% Dark Munich Bock (Read 2383 times)

Was going to brew majorvice's traditional bock next week, and ordered some Weyermann Munich II from my new LHBS guy - only wanted 10-15lbs, but he's accustomed to me wanting full bags so I wound up with the whole nut, no big deal - I'll be using it.

Anyways, the recipe is usually a mix of light and dark with some carafa I for color, but then I was thinking "why not just all munich II?" This would help me kill a little inventory - I have no problem going through lots of light munich, but I'll have this dark munich for a while.

Very undecided - any thoughts out there?

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The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I've never tried a 100% MM Bock before, but I can tell you that I went to the HNC Finals in 2009 with a recipe that is 60/20/20, Munich/Vienna/Pils and it is fantastic. I also added a splash of Caramunich and melanoiden for kicks. If you decide to try it, you won't be disappointed. I would decoct it for best performance.

Well, it will help you understand what dark Munich tastes like... I'd agree with Jeff that a dunkel is a better choice. I think if the gravity gets too high, the dark Munich can be pretty intense. Look for a bread crust flavor, sometimes with a toasted crust note. The graininess can get out of balance and sometimes it can have an astringent note. But it has a great flavor, quite unique, not very much like light Munich.

Back in the '90s, I made a recipe with 90% dark Munich and 10% aromatic that was supposed to be an authentic alt. It was so malty, it really swallowed the bitterness (50 IBUs of spalt). I loved the beer, but it really wasn't much like an alt.

So it can work to make a tasty beer but I'm not sure it will be something that kills the style. Depends on what you are targeting it for. If nothing else, you'll get a malt bomb that you can use to boost maltiness in other beers if you are up for some blending.

Give it a go. You'll learn something and you can probably use the result in several different ways.

I think if the gravity gets too high, the dark Munich can be pretty intense. Look for a bread crust flavor, sometimes with a toasted crust note.

I was wondering if that was going to be an issue - taht it would be too intense - I think I'll just brew the recipe as is - 50/50 light/dark munich and then if that turns out well then maybe next year's I'll up it to 25/75 and see - given the commitment to making bock, I'd be crushed if it were not very drinkable - 2 kegs of blending beer would be a bit much.

thanks for the comments guys - keep em coming!

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The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

There are different Lovibond ratings for Munich malts from different maltsters. Weyermann's light Munich is 6-7 and their dark is 10-11, but others' light Munich can be 10 and their dark 20. So check the malster and/or the lovibond rating to be sure.

I just made Czech Dark Lager with 90% Munich II and I thought it was too much.100% Dunkel is great but it might be just too much for Bock. Doing 50/50 Munich I and Munich II might be fine.You could add 10 to 20 % Pilsner malt just to make it little lighter and add some enzymes.